Demon Eyes and Flowers
by Golden Hawk1
Summary: Kieoya is a brute of a half demon, Midori is a sweet and smart girl. What will become of this tag team in a world of war and bloodshed? *Note- Naruto background; some of this story is childish, and other parts are a bit.. Mature. Don't expect too many main naruto charaters till the end. T for now: Rating will go up as the charaters age.
1. The Hard, Cold World

SIDE STORY ONE: Dragon Eyes and Blossoms

This side story is to go with my main story: A Day Without War. BY THE WAY…. I'm offering somebody a role in my story IF you can figure out that title. Here are some stats on the main characters:

**Kieoya-** half-breed: dragon-demon, human  
**Appearance**- human colored skin on most of face, arms, legs, and torso: blood red-gold scales appear on the tops and outsides of arms and legs, along hairline, and sides of chest and stomach. Eyes appear to be a liquid red-orange, like fire; had claws that have no particular color, fangs that are average size in human form, and about 3x the length in demon form. The only other difference in the forms is the wings, claws, and more scales appear. Wings are a burgundy-red color, with a dull gold edge. His hair is an almost shimmering forest green, and looks completely out of place with his golden-red scales. It is roughly cut, like Sasuke's hair, but longer, like Itachi's (just not THAT long)  
**Abilities- **All scales are the equivalent of tempered diamond armor, and can repel any human weapon and even some ninjustus, for example, the back of his arm has scales that repel Sasuke and Itachi's Lightning Blade, or Chidori. His attacks are mainly fire-type, but he can use a few earth-type attacks that mix and create lava: his most spectacular ninjutsu is Volcanic Explosion- a massive volcano forms around the entire area and erupts, burning everything within five kilometers.

**Midori-** human  
**Appearance**- light brown, shimmering hair that is down to her lower back, shimmering emerald eyes that catch and repel light (and genjutsu). She isn't pale, but isn't tan. She is very lightweight and thin, but has some muscles (not totally noticeable, which ends up being the downfall of her opponents: pitying her "weakness".)  
**Abilities**-When she fights, she fights with Kieoya: a special set of shoulder armor lets Kieoya grab the armor with his claws and lift her into the air when they need to escape. She also can heal with herbs and some weak medical jutsu, but mainly is good with stitches. Her main type of fighting is similar to Sakura's, but usually she wears fire/lava-proofed clothing, and masks herself in a coat of her own chakra to allow Kieoya to encase and enhance her strikes with fire or lava. She normally carries around a small backpack filled with medical supplies and herbs to help Kieoya

**Hope that will make this story clearer!**

He was running from the many intimidating words, he was running from the physical threats, and he was trying to run from himself. The claws and fangs he possessed started showing a few days after his ninth birthday. A fierce pain, and the next thing he knew, he was in his demonic form without a choice. He had managed to hide his secret long enough, but he couldn't stop this. Apparently it's impossible to hide his fangs now. He was running so hastily he didn't notice that he had a shadow following him.

A small girl a few months younger than him, Midori, was small and quiet. She had noticed a large crowd of people trying to hurt him, and watched in horror as he ran away instead of fighting them off; he had the power to! She followed after him when the crowd cleared.

He had collapsed in an alley, a few tears running down his face, when he heard the rapidly approaching footsteps. His claws flashed in the light as he sat up to face his opponent. The footsteps entered the passage, and he pinned the small figure to the wall. He got a good look at the small girl and instantly let go. "I AM a monster." Kieoya said to himself. The young girl looked at him with tranquil yet, troubled, stunning green eyes.

"Who told you that?"She asked softly. He gritted his teeth, and clenched his fist Several people had called his name out with words like "freak" and "monster". **Kieoya.** That name was a curse to him now. "Never mind", she said quickly, noticing his reaction. "Are you injured? I saw the crowd of people attack you. Are you hurt?"

Kieoya looked at the girl like somebody would look at his claws and wings: like she was a freak. Did she not see his dragon's wings, the claws that had just pinned her to a cement wall( and had gone through it), and the fangs that could snap her bones into dust? He looked away from her. "I'm fine. You shouldn't be here." He said guiltily. He actually wanted her to stay with him more than anything in the world.

She looked a bit upset in an angry way. "You don't look fine. You look sort of sick, honestly. Come on, I know a place near here; it's an old abandoned house where they won't find us. You need help, and you know it! If it were me in an alley, collapsed, I have a good feeling that you would-"

Kieoya flinched at the forcefulness in her tone, but he never got to hear the end of her sentence because the tiredness, painful wounds, and his sickness took over. He hadn't realized he had been sick, but it was too late for that. He slipped into a darkness that he wasn't sure he would want to wake from.

Midori looked at the boy collapsed in the alleyway. Why did he seem to deny help? Why did he flinch at her voice? All these questions would have to come later; she began to drag him as gently and quietly as she could, and that's when she noticed his folded wings. In the darkness of the shade, they had blended in with the dark red-brown stone well, but against the dirt they were very obvious. She gasped quietly, but continued taking him to her little hideout. When she got there, she kicked open the door and began arranging a small bed for her new companion leaning up against the doorjamb. She dragged him over to the bed and made sure he was comfortable. She gathered some herbs from the small garden she had grown, and began mixing the herbs. She was very young to know how all this worked, but her grandmother had said she needed to know how to grow herbs and make teas over a fire. She was very glad that she had taught her these skills at an early age. A small moan of pain came from the cot on the floor; a pair of fiery red eyes fell upon her back. She turned to the boy and asked a question that would bond them forever, no matter how much they went through.

The girl, now called Midori, inquired sweetly.

"My name is a curse," he muttered angrily. He looked down at the floor, letting his lengthy, dark green hair fall over his liquid red eyes. He felt as if she was a fragile blossom, as in his very gaze would smolder her presence to ash.

"Well, unless you would like me to call you Dragon-boy for the rest of your life, you'd better tell me your name!" she huffed cutely. She wasn't much younger than him- only a few months- but she acted like his mother would. He didn't mind the name Dragon-boy; it was better than evil spirit, monster, freak, horrid creature, demon, and half-breed, even if the last two were what he really was. He sighed, or tried to. Every breath he took became painful and he finally was gasping for breath. The girl padded quietly over to him quickly and put her soft-skinned hand on his rough, scaled shoulder. He flinched and she pulled away for just a second, but then rested her hand on his shoulder again. "I don't know why you're afraid of me. I won't hurt you. Why don't you tell me your name? I don't want to call you Dragon-boy. It sounds ridiculous after a while." When he didn't respond, she kneeled on the floor to the side of his little bed, and lifted up part of his long green hair looking at his eyes. He cringed, foolishly expecting her to burn up; the emerald green eyes, which almost matched his hair, calmed him in a way. He looked up and she moved his hair behind his ears.

"Kieoya…" He finally mumbled after a few seconds.

"Kieoya? Ok, I think that's a great name!" she said in a pleasant, passionate way that he would discover only she can. He was tempted to smile at her, but he was overcome with a wave of heat, then cold, and it finished with a wave of pain. He heard a thump and the back of his head hit the floor. "Kieoya! Where does it hurt? Do you need some water? Let me go get the tea I made, don't move." She scrambled to her feet and grabbed some cups and poured a mug of tea. She helped him sit up against the wall, and ordered him to sip on the tea until it was gone. He drank the tea; the heat in his stomach from the tea made him feel a bit better. She watched him closely, waiting to catch his head this time if he fainted.

"Why are you helping me?" he suddenly blurted out. He flinched at the sound of his voice, and at the throbbing talking brought into his lungs. She cocked her head in confusion.

"'Why?' You were hurt, and obviously you're sick. Why wouldn't I help?"

"You must be blind or have very bad sight. You must not be able to see my demon claws and fangs. My wings and scales. I'm not worth saving—!" He was promptly whacked on the back of the head with a stem of some herb.

"Don't you talk about yourself like that, Kieoya. If you weren't worth saving, why didn't I leave you in the alleyway?"

"That's what I'm trying to understand," he replied directly. He didn't bother with his usual complicated speech.

"Kieoya, I didn't leave you because you have some life value. I'm not a jerk like those people that were trying to harm you."

"What if they find out your keeping me here? What then? You'd be beaten too, and you don't have any scales or claws or fangs to protect yourself with! I'm not a medical expert, but it's going to take me awhile to recover and—." He stopped talking. He was getting a concerned look from Midori, and felt a warm, wet liquid seep out of his scales. Blood. The first thing he tried to do was rip part of his shirt to wrap it with, but as soon as he got the fabric in his incisors to tear it, somebody was also pulling on the fabric of his shirt. He let go of the fabric and allowed his over-shirt to be pulled off of himself. He saw Midori gasp and blush a bit at the same time (Kieoya wasn't your averagely muscled nine-year-old… because he was a half-demon); the eight ½ -year-old had never seen such a deep wound.

"Did they do that to you?" she asked, stunned at the sight. He nodded and picked up the bloody shirt, and ripped off a long piece of fabric. He was about to wrap his wound when a gentle but firm hand took it away. "I'm not going to let you move with a wound like that. Lean forward, just a little, so I can wrap it for you." He obeyed the commands, watching her carefully. She looked at the bloodied strip of cloth in disgust and tried to salvage a less gory pile of bandaged. He didn't really care if it was his only shirt; he preferred to not wear one while in demon form. Plus, his fever wasn't making a shirt any more comfortable. She began wrapping the material around his waist gently; if he made even a slight reference to feeling pain—a small noise, gritting his teeth, wincing slightly—she stopped and asked if she was hurting him. He would always say "no, I'm fine.", and she would keep wrapping it. After fifteen minutes of this little routine, she tied off the bandage and handed him a blanked to wrap up with. She left the teapot over the small fire, brought in a little pile of wood that would last for the night, stocked the fire itself, and turned to Kieoya, who looked a bit worried about something.

"What is it, Kieoya?" she asked. "Is your wound hurting you? Is it bleeding again?"

"No. I'm fine. It's just..." he stopped and looked at the floor, his jade green hair catching the last bits of sunset as he looked at the floor. She walked over and flipped up part of his hair again and felt his forehead. He blushed ever so slightly; he wasn't used to human touch that didn't involve pain, and this touch made him feel kind of fuzzy inside.

"What is it, dragon-boy? Afraid I'm not coming back tomorrow?" His head shot up when Midori said this, and he turned and looked at the fire.

"Most people who ever said they'd be back, left for good." Kieoya knew he needed Midori's help, and also needed her company.

She smiled and replied, "I'll only be gone for the night. My parents would come looking for me if I were to stay out here. They can't find you or we'll both be in trouble." She turned, picked up her small backpack, put some herbs in it, and walked to the door. "Don't worry Kieoya. I'll never leave you."

Whether she meant to put hope in his heart, or just make him stop worrying about tomorrow, she did both. Kieoya thanked her and said goodbye.

"Bye, Dragon-boy. I'll see you tomorrow!"

* * *

I personally think its cute. leave a comment please.


	2. Enter: Cassy The blonde lunatic

**AT MIDORI'S HOME…**

"Mother! Father! I'm home!" Midori's voice was answered from her mother in the kitchen.

"Hello dear. My, your home late, sweetie! You missed dinner. I'll fix you some rice. That ok with you?"

"Yes, Mother, thanks! Sorry I was home so late. I was gathering herbs in the forest again."

"Alright. Just try not to be so late tomorrow dear." Midori nodded and began to eat the rice placed in front of her. Casual chat about her father's trip to the Star Village, what type of flowers to place over Grandma's grave, and favorite toppings on rice brought her to thinking of Kieoya somehow. She got an idea when her mother started to talk about a new kind of ninja food that was easy to make and came in a simple box; her father had taken it on his mission.

"Hey, Mom?"

"Yes Midori?" Her mother was washing the dishes, so Midori walked over to help dry them.

"I was wondering if maybe you could fix me a picnic lunch tomorrow. I'm supposed to meet a friend over in the woods. I met him while gathering herbs and I think it would be a good idea to bring food tomorrow, so we can take a break and eat lunch by that pretty little pond where we met." Midori hated the taste of the lie, but it was for her protection, and Kieoya's. Her mother, though very kind, would not accept him the way she did.

"A new friend? That's wonderful sweetie! I'd be glad to pack a lunch for two. I'll even put in some extra sweets for you both," her mother replied with a wink.

"Thanks Mom!" Midori said, giving her mother a big hug.

**With Kieoya**

He leaned up against the wall, looking through the old, rotting window pane at the bright moon. He looked at his glittering scales in the moonlight; they shined silver, and didn't glow at all where his blood covered them. He would have to ask Midori about the location of a pond where he could clean up a bit. He lied down on the make-shift bed and fell asleep thinking of ways to pay Midori back for her kindness.

**The Next Morning- Midori's Village**

"Midori! Midori? You there?" Her friend, Cassy, waved a hand in front of her face.

"Hmm? Oh sorry, just tired. Hey, listen, I got to go meet up with a friend in the woods today so I'll see you later." She began to walk away when there was a pull on her arm.

"But my dad said that's where the demon-boy ran off to! If he sees you he'll kill you!" her friend panicked.

"I was in the woods yesterday, and didn't see hide or scale of the demon-boy. Just a claw mark on a tree, from a cat. Let me go, I got to go meet up with my friend! I don't want him thinking I ditched him!"

"Oh… so you're going on a date?" All Cassy received was a glare and a mouthful of dust as her friend ran off into the woods.

**Kieoya's "House"**

Kieoya awoke to the smell of warm rice and more strengthening herbal remedies. He turned his head slightly to the side to find himself looking at a busy Midori. He closed his eyes and opened them again, just to see if she really came back. He sat up slowly, and she smiled at him warmly.

"Morning sleepy-head!" she giggled.

"What's so funny?"

"Does your hair always look like that in the morning?" Midori chuckled again and held up a small , smooth edged piece of glass. He flinched a bit at the sight; fiery red eyes sparking with demonic energy. He barely noticed the wildly placed forest of hair on his head. He took the broken shard of glass and stared at his own eyes. Midori noticed something was wrong—she had always been good at sensing emotions from others—and softly stated, "You're not a monster to me, Kieoya. So stop looking at yourself like you want to kill the reflection."

Kieoya couldn't stop death-staring himself down, and eventually just crushed the glass in his scale-covered hand. Midori gasped and immediately grabbed his hand and began pulling the pieces of glass from in between his scales. She went over to her backpack and took out a role of medial bandages and a kunai from the pocket. She also grabbed the food and tea and set that on a slab of tree bark for a tray and took it over to him. She held his injured hand again, muttering the whole time about the stupidity of some demons. He didn't mind her calling him a demon because she said it in a way that wasn't an insult.

"You shouldn't hurt yourself, Kieoya. It's not going to solve anything. Neither is having a stare-down with your self. Eat your food."

"Thanks for the food." He began eating small bits of rice at a time, realized that he was famished, and started wolfing down the food, not letting a single piece touch anything but his tong. He drank his tea as ordered, and looked at his wrapped hand. _Maybe I could wear wrappings like this all the time, to cover the scales. I'd look like a ninja, too. _

"Kieoya, I also brought another blanket, and a few more towels so you can take a bath in the pond a little ways from here. You smell like a dead corps, no offence."

"Midori?"

"Yes, Kieoya?" She cocked her head, wondering what the quiet boy could want to ask her.

"Do you think that I'll ever be allowed back in the village?" he asked honestly. He needed to know her opinion; she would tell him the right answer.

"I… maybe. If you wear wraps like that, and maybe a hat. Nothing we can really do about those fiery eyes—." She stopped herself. He didn't like his eyes; she could tell from the way he looked in the glass. "Sorry…" she said softly. She turned back to cleaning the dishes with a damp rag, and heard Kieoya stand up in the corner. She couldn't look at him; she wouldn't.

Kieoya walked over and began helping her clean the dishes. "I don't mind. I'm used to it." Midori looked up in surprise. He looked quite content sitting there, cleaning dishes. She looked up and met the blazing red eyes that needed her help so much. "Can you show me that lake now? I need to get some of this dirt off of me. I feel so heavy." He stretched out his wings, and for the first time she noticed how big his wingspan really was—a good ten feet. She didn't mean to stare, but he just shrugged and said, "I have to keep them from becoming stiff or I'll never be able to fold them right." He refolded the dragon's wings across his back, shortening them to about three feet from the main point to the main point. She handed him the towel and two bars of soap.

"Oh wait! You don't have a shirt—."

"Doesn't matter; I'd just tear it if I tried to stretch my wings or even just scratch my shoulder."

"Kieoya?"

"Uh, yea?"

"Do those wings ever bother you? They look kind of heavy."

Kieoya looked at her a bit oddly, because he wasn't used to people asking him questions about his demon form. He stood there, flexing the tips of his wings a bit, and then replied, "Have you ever been flying, Midori?"

"No, but I've always envied those who could. It must be so nice to be free of the earth, even if it's just for a short time. Why?"

"Um…These wings aren't heavy. They, err, help me get away from the earth for a while. So even if they are a pain to sleep on, I can get used to it." He decided he could open up to Midori. She didn't see the bad behind the demon he was. "The real annoyance of my demonic traits is the scales"

"Scales? Why the scales?" She asked sheepishly. She had a feeling this was uncomfortable for him.

He adjusted the towel and soap into his injured hand and lifted a single armor plate up slightly, and several grains of dirt fell onto the floor. "Uh..That's why. There a pain to clean under."

"oh.." She replied simply. "Let me show you that lake, Kieoya. It looks like it's going to take awhile for you to get clean." Kieoya nodded and let the blanket he had wrapped himself up in fall so he was standing there, shirtless. He walked out of the house first so he never noticed Midori's blushing face. Midori pointed over to a small spring about the size of your average hot-tub. Kieoya thanked her and pulled off his shoes, revealing sharp clawed toes. "I'm either going to have to sew you new pants while your bathing, or wash those." Midori sighed.

"Uh, I suppose that makes sense. You, um, stay in the house and I'll put them behind that bolder over by the back door. I'll tell you when it's… safe."

"That works." Midori went in the house, and when Kieoya was sure she was gone, took off the remaining clothing and wrapped the towel around his waist. He ran over and left his pants and shoes behind the bolder and ran back. He left the towel, and jumped into the middle of the spring, letting the cold water shock out any last bits of the drowsiness being sick might leave in his day. Being cold-blooded, he quickly cleans under, over and around his scales, washed his wings, and began to dry off with the towel. After hit thirty minuet bath, he wrapped the towel around his waist again and lied down in a patch of sunlight to let the natural light finish drying his skin and scales. He decided that a towel was descent enough, and pinned it in place with a scale that had shed while he was drying off. This was a regular occurrence, so he didn't worry about it much. He already had human skin, the scales acted as armor for that softer skin. After he managed to get the towel to stay, he stretched his wings out, and beat them once to take to the treetops, and then spread them to the full ten feet. He waited for a gust and then let the warm current lift himself into the cerulean blue sky. _I'll give Midori a little surprise, and see if she runs from me. I will test her to see if she really can stay and help me. _He spotted her washing his clothing in a stream closer to the cabin with a bar of some herbal soap. She was also munching on something sweet. He was careful to glide low to the ground—only about ten feet from the top of her head—so she could feel the wind his wings created. She heard the rustle of wind and looked up to see Kieoya glide over her head, wearing only his towel. She jumped up in surprise, but didn't run. She merely covered her eyes in embarrassment. "Kieoya! Put something on! God!" She threw his clothing on his head and then turned away, still blushing.

"Uh, Sorry. I'm dressed now." Kieoya was slightly bushing to. He didn't think about THIS reaction; he felt all fuzzy and warm again. Maybe it was her who caused this feeling; poor unknowing Kieoya…

"Kieoya, come here." She said simply. He walked over and was promptly smacked on the back of his head.  
"What was that for!" he exclaimed , rubbing his sore head.

"For trying to scare me! I would think you could warn me next time you're going flying. And no more flying for now! What if a villager saw you! We'd both be in deep trouble."

"Sorry… So you're going to leave now, right?" He asked guiltily. He didn't think (oh there's a surprise) about the villagers much anymore. It only brought back pain to his thoughts.

She sighed and turned to face Kieoya. She noticed when he felt guilty or upset about something he let his forest of hair cover his eyes. "No Kieoya. I'm not leaving. You're still sick, injured, and you need somebody to take care of you, Dragon-boy." She shoved his shoulder goodheartedly; he was new to human touch still, but still understood this. He stood up and stretched out then creased his wings, careful not to hit her in the head. He was walking back to the house when he stopped suddenly. Midori was looking elsewhere than in front of herself, and ran right into his rock-hard shoulders. "Ouch! Kieoya, don't stop like—!" She was cut off after Kieoya clapped his hand over her mouth and motioned for her to whisper. He rushed her into the house. "Kieoya, what's gotten into you?" she murmured softly, but forcefully. He said nothing but walked to the window, and began to sniff the air softly. "You look like a dog-demon now, Dragon-boy."

"Shh! Somebody's coming." Kieoya shushed. Midori's green orbs of light widened when her hearing picked up footsteps. Somebody HAD seen Kieoya flying—she knew it! She thought on the fly; she shoved Kieoya under a table, wings and all, and then began piling towels on himself.

"What the—."

"Shh!" Midori walked outside to greet her "guest"; she was tackled by her best friend Cassy.

"MIDORI! I SAW THE DEMON-BOY FLYING AND—!"

"You're yelling in my ear! Did anybody else see him?"

"Uhh.. not that I know of. We are pretty far in the woods, and he was flying low. Come on! We got to go back and warn everybody that he's still around here!"

"No!" She said a little too quickly, earning an odd look from her friend. There was a crash from inside the cabin suddenly.

"What was that?" her friend demanded.

"Um.. I was stacking some towels on a table. I guess they fell off."

"Well, let me help you."

"No, I can do it myself. Just, wait here."

"Midori, you know I don't accept the word 'no' for and answer often. Now I'm going to help you, alright?"

Midori should have guessed that at least one person would find out about Kieoya. How could she explain to her friend? How would Kieoya react to being found by another human other than herself? Would her harm her friend? She trudged into the house, and saw the pile of towels on the floor, the knocked over table, and the tips of wings poking out from under the cloth.

Her friend looked a bit frightened. "Somebody's under there!" she exclaimed, both anxious and excited. She looked at Midori for an explanation.

"I suppose I can't keep this a secret any longer. But you have to PROMISE that you won't tell ANYBODY."

"Midori… Alright! I Promise! Even if it was Demon-boy himself!" Cassy was true to her word. She wouldn't tell. She was confident though about her guess; it might have been the demon.

"Alright then. I'll remember that. Kieoya, you've been found out." The pile of towels parted a bit, revealing those striking liquid fire eyes. He grunted and picked himself off the ground, almost towering above them at a good four feet tall—they both were only about three feet by an inch or so. She noticed two things: Kieoya's wound was bleeding, and her friend was passed out on the floor.

"Sorry… I should have been more careful. Hey, is she going to be alright?" His slightly rough voice caught in Cassy's ears. 'Hey, is she going to be alright?' was not something she expected to hear from the demon-kid.

"Midori! You're taking care of the demon?" Cassy asked startled as she sat up. She gazed at his figure as Kieoya studied her; she thought he was trying to find out if she was a threat. He flexed the tips of his magnificent wings and sat on the floor, trying to make himself look less significant.

"He was bleeding in an alley, and he was sick. What was I supposed to do?" an argument ensued, and nobody noticed the dragon until he had spoken up.

"I think you both should stop arguing. And, um, Cassy was it?"

"Yea…" She was skeptical of this Kieoya. What could he say to her that wouldn't be a threat?

"Um.. Sorry for scaring you. I mean, I know I'm kinda creepy looking, and I'm sorry about…" he cut off. He didn't like the way she was searching him; it was like she was looking for the truth in his words.

"It's ok, I guess." Cassy looked at Midori, who smiled at her.

"He's not aggressive or nasty. He's just… Kieoya." Kieoya gritted his teeth and his hand covered his side.

"Kieoya? Kieoya!" Both of the girls looked shocked at the pool of blood on the floor. He was losing consciousness from blood loss.

"Is he going to be ok?"

"I… I don't know, Cassy. I'm doing everything I know how to for him."

"He needs stitches, but I don't know how to."

For the rest of the day, little conversation happened between the girls until them both decided to sew him some new pants out of an old blanked. It was red and black, with no real pattern so it was perfect for him. "So what is he like?"

"Hmm?" Midori looked up from her part of the blanket.

"I mean Kieoya. He seems… rough. But nice."

"He's just misunderstood. He isn't a mad killer like everybody thinks. I guess half-demons aren't like full demons."

Cassy looked up and put her hand on her friend shoulder. "I won't tell. About Kieoya, I mean. I think you did the right thing. You always were good at understanding people, err, dragon-people." They both giggled; Kieoya moaned and his crimson red eyes flickered open, looked over, and then closed again. "Wonder why he looked at us."

"to make sure we didn't leave him. He said he never had anybody stay around him this long before. He needs a friend or two. He isn't used to human contact yet; all I did yesterday was place my hand on his shoulder and he jumped like I put an ice cube on his bare skin."

"That reminds me. We should probably make him a shirt too."

"No. His wings would rip it if he tried to fly, or that's what he said."

Cassy pondered this for a moment. "Well ok then. But it is kind of embarrassing to be around a shirtless demon. I mean, how does a nine-year-old boy get so strong to the point where he actually almost has an eight-pack?" That was Cassy for you—direct and blunt about her thoughts.

"Cassy!" Midori blushed a bit, because she had been thinking the same thing since she met him. His core muscles didn't show much, but you could tell they would if he worked out anymore. She blushed more at the thought.

"Oh… I get it. You have a crush on Kieoya!" Cassy whispered excitedly.

"Do not!" Midori said. Kieoya opened his eyes and moaned again.

"Midori? Cassy?"

"What is it, Dragon-boy." To Kieoya's surprise, it was Cassy who answered him.

"Uh… never mind." He forced himself to sit up, even though it made him dizzy.

"Kieoya, can I ask you a question?" Midori was worried about what Cassy would ask.

"Sure, I guess." Kieoya was worried about what she might ask to, and looked at Midori for help. She shrugged. "Uh, yea. Go ahead."

"If your part dragon, or dragon-demon. Whatever you are, does that mean you're cold-blooded?" Cassy had just asked a very important question; if Kieoya still had a fever, which would be hard to bring down in the heat. And how would you know it's a fever?

"Um, I prefer warmer weather to winter. I'm, uh, a fire-type demon, if that makes sense. Here let me show you what I mean." Kieoya shuffled across the floor to the fire-pit, filled with unused wood, and the girls came over to.

"Don't get to close. I don't want you getting burned or hurt."

_Wait, so dragon-boy is worried about us? That means that the villagers beat an innocent kid! _Cassy was older than both of them by a year and half a year—she was nine and 1/2 –, so she called them kids. "Ok." Cassy answered and moved back slightly, afraid of what might happen if she got to close.

"Alright, I am a dragon-demon, and I learned how to do this at a young age…" Kieoya closed his eyes, focused his natural energy towards his lungs, took a semi-deep breath, and blew out enough fire to incinerate all the wood in the fire-pit. The girls both gasped and jumped back, and Kieoya smiled a bit. He had been itching to do that since he had been locked inside a small house all day.

"Whoa… Think you could teach my pet lizard how to do that, Kieoya?" Cassy asked in awe.

"Probably not. Its, uh, a dragon thing." He blushed as Midori gazed at him in that way that made him feel fuzzy and warm again. He swore to himself and forced the blush away.

"That's amazing Kieoya! Darn, look how late it is!" The sun had already set half way, and they were so far in the woods. Kieoya looked down a bit guilty that he would make her late home yet again. Then he got an idea. He stretched his wings out a bit and looked intently at Midori, whose emerald eyes grew wide. "Kieoya, no. I'm not letting you fly us home. If the villagers see you, you'll be killed!"

" I was thinking that I could just set you both down by the edge of the forest."

"No, Kieoya." Cassy said forcefully.

"You're afraid to fly. Both of you are." Kieoya said, a slight mischievous smile graced his usually serious face.

"Maybe…" they both answered.

"Well, how can you know if you like it or not if you don't attempt it?" Kieoya stood up and walked out the front of the old hut he now called home. The girls looked at each other, then carefully walked outside. They saw Kieoya's wings stretched out full wingspan, his scales glinting in the sunlight, making them seem to be on fire. They both stared again at the dragon-boy, who smiled and said "Change your minds yet?" The girls nodded, stunned by the glowing scales and rather handsome smile he gave them. "Alright then." He picked both of them up rather easily, and a rush of wind took them to the treetops. He sniffed the air to see if anything was nearby. A pack of wolves had killed a deer. Somebody several miles away was plowing a field. Storm clouds were gathering on the horizon, and they smelled of damp rain. "Ready girls?"

"Not really!"

"No!"

"Alright then let's go!" He tightened his grip on his passengers, firmly but gently, and allowed himself a semi-steep dive into the low tree branches. Cassy was smiling like a lunatic, and Midori slammed her eyes shut and snuggled into Kieoya's chest.

"You can put me down here, Kieoya." Cassy said above the rush of wind.

"Alright."

"Wait, don't dive—!"

Too late for poor Midori and Cassy. Kieoya had dipped into a steep dive; not vertical but not far from it. He tucked his wings back a bit, then reopened them when he neared the ground.

"Wow, what a rush!" Cassy fixed her messy blonde hair. "Thanks Kieoya! Oh and sorry."

"Sorry? For what?" Kieoya had never heard an apology that was for him.

"For believing the villagers. Midori was right: you're a nice, err, dragon." Kieoya blinked as she called out a goodbye to Midori and himself. _So she likes me? I have to friends now? _he questioned himself. _In that case, I'll have to protect them both. Especially Midori; I like the way she makes me feel._

"Kieoya? Hello? You there?" Midori waved a hand in front of his blank face. It was getting dark and she had to get home.

"Hmm? Oh. Yes, sorry. Just thinking." Midori smiled and he picked her up; it was a smoother take off with only one passenger. Midori snuggled into his chest again, making him blush. He allowed himself to let her soft, sweet scent waft up to his sensitive nose. _Midori smells like roses. Come to think of it, she does remind me of the fragile flower. Aren't there stories of dragons crushing fields of flowers? _He shivered. He slightly tightened his grip on the girl, and noticed she had fallen asleep. He made himself a promise right then and there. He whispered to the sleeping girl, for reasons unknown to him yet, "I'll always protect you, my little flower." She smiled in her sleep and mumbled something uncatchable. Kieoya allowed himself to smile slightly, then went back to focusing on flying.

Midori felt his grip tighten on her, making her stir from her sleep. She didn't move or open her eyes; she didn't feel like it. She knew Kieoya wouldn't let her fall. He said something unexpected to her, and she knew he thought she was asleep, but that didn't matter. "I'll always protect you, my little flower." She smiled and mumbled, "I'll always be there for you, Dragon-boy."

* * *

I know it ended abruptly, but i'm addind the last few paragraphs to the next chapter so the writting will flow more easily.


	3. The Eclipse of the 1st Moon

Midori felt his grip tighten on her, making her stir from her sleep. She didn't move or open her eyes; she didn't feel like it. She knew Kieoya wouldn't let her fall. He said something unexpected to her, and she knew he thought she was asleep, but that didn't matter. "I'll always protect you, my little flower." She smiled and mumbled, "I'll always be there for you, Dragon-boy."

After some time, she felt him dip into a smooth dive, not nearly as deep as before. She "un-snuggled" herself from Kieoya's scale plated chest. She blinked and realized it had gotten dark; her mother would be suspicious this time. "Right there, Dragon-boy. The green roof." Midori mumbled sleepily.

"Alright Midori." He touched down to the ground quietly, right in front of her door. She noticed that he hid his wings and scales well; he was back in human form. His green hair was the same, but the fiery red eyes were more of a copper now. "Uh, guess I used to much demonic energy. I'll be fine, by tomorrow afternoon. See you tomorrow." Kieoya turned to leave, when something grabbed his now-human skinned arm.

"Wait, Kieoya. You're absolutely sure you won't be back to your half-demon form until tomorrow afternoon?"

"Yea. Look." He pointed at the moon, or where the moon should be. "Eclipse. I can't go back to or use my demon form until it passes, late afternoon tomorrow." His copper eyes flashed in the low light. "Why?"

"I wanted you to meet my mother. My father isn't home; he won't be for a while. I think it's for the best that you meet her, so she doesn't ask to meet you sometime when we would have to hide your scales and wings." He nodded, skeptical, but knew she was right.

"Oh, Midori! Is that you at the door?" Light flooded onto the front porch as her mother opened the door and smiled. "Welcome home dear. Is this your new friend? Hello I'm Mrs. Haroshi."

"Hello, ma'am. My name is Kieoya. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Oh, what a polite young man."

"Mom..." Midori groaned.

"Sorry dear. Please, come in. I just put some dinner on the table. Do you like steak, Kieoya?"

"To be honest, I've never had steak." Kieoya admitted. He knew what it was, but a demon-child living off of whatever odd job his neighbors paid him to do, could never afford steak. He had venison, but not much else in the way of meat.

"Well, if you like meat, you're going to like steak." Midori told him with a smile. Secretly she hoped he knew how to use a knife and fork; then guiltily told herself that he was smart enough to figure it out by watching her and her mother.

Dinner went well. Kieoya told them a little about his past: he was an orphan, preferred living in the woods, and was actually allergic to most vegetables.

"How did you figure that out?" Midori asked curiously. Who could be allergic to almost every vegetable?

"My old neighbors gave me some dinner one night, and afterwards it was hard to breath. I was lucky they helped me, or I might not be here today."

Her mother, without any hesitation, removed all of the vegetables from near him, not wanting to deal with a suffocating child. It turns out he did learn manners, apart from putting his napkin on his lap, but he didn't need it. Turns out he was a very clean eater, and finished everything that was on his plate. He helped clean the dishes, and put them away. After clean up was done, her mother offered Kieoya a place to sleep for the night.

"Come on, Kieoya. You can always like sleeping in the woods, plus it looked like it was going to rain when you were walking me home." They finally managed to get Kieoya to agree to sleep on a pile of blankets in Midori's room. The small room was painted green and pink, and looked like a watermelon had puked everywhere. Kieoya was NOT a fan of pink, though the green was fine to him.

"I've wanted to paint my room again for years now. I don't like this shade of pink." Midori explained. "Sadly, my mother likes it so she keeps making excuses not to repaint it." Kieoya nodded simply, and her mother laughed.

"I guess I want to keep your room like when you were little, because you grow up so fast, my little rose." She hugged Midori and said goodnight, and then to Kieoya's surprise, hugged him to. "Goodnight, you two. Don't stay up too late."

"Goodnight, Mrs. Haroshi. Thanks for letting me stay here for the night."

"No problem, dear." Kieoya flinched slightly at the nickname, but smiled nicely.

Later that night, Midori was taking a shower and Kieoya was reading a book that Midori handed him. It was some girly book about a puppet that couldn't lie or his nose would grow. He was almost done with the book when he heard soft footsteps down stairs. Curiosity getting the better of himself, he peaked out the door and walked without a step down the stairs. _Midori's mother went to bed, Midori is just now getting out of the shower, (he heard her turn off the water), and I can't be in more than one place. Maybe her father was home?_ Kieoya's demonic traits were gone, but his sense of smell was keen even without demonic enhancement. He knew this smell: burning wood. Not just any wood, because the dining room table was made of oak and maple, and he smelled the sickly sweet smoke from the maple. His eyes widened. Somebody had set the house on fire. He crept downstairs and peaked around the corner. He smelled something unfamiliar. He stepped out from his hiding place and then felt something sharp pierce his ankle. _Snakes. _Was his last thought before falling and hearing somebody call out his name.

"Kieoya. Kieoya? Kieoya!" Midori had gotten dressed in more modest pajamas (usually she wore a night dress, but she was wearing her long pants and a proper shirt.) She had found Kieoya in a restless sleep, tossing around like he was on fire. His human eyes opened suddenly, and he sat up stiffly and began sniffing the air.

"No fire? Where'd the snakes go? Ouch!" He had hit his head on the floor when he fell out of the chair he had been sitting in, and was feeling that now.

"I came out of the shower, and you were on the floor. Let me check your injury, Kieoya." She made him sit up and pulled off his shirt (her mother let him borrow one of Mr. Haroshi's old shirts to sleep in). She also made him tell her the main points of the dream. "Sounds scary. I hate snakes. Looks like your injury is fine, still closed up, anyways. Let's get some sleep now, Kieoya." She lightly touched his shoulder and said goodnight. He nodded, feeling a bit shy right now, and pulled the shirt on again. He licked his thumb and read the last page of the book, then turned off the little light she had in her room. He slept soundly throughout the rest of the night.

**That Morning…**

Midori was the first one awake. _I'll let him sleep in today._ Midori thought. She went downstairs to find a note on the fridge:

_ Good morning Midori! Good morning Kieoya!_

_ I went to the store today, and I won't be back until around lunchtime. I left you both an omelet in the bread heater; they should still be warm. If you leave to do something in the village or the woods, please leave me a note. If you go into the woods, please gather some parsley, Midori. Thanks! Have a great day, you two!_

_ -Mom_

"So she went to the market?" Midori jumped and spun around. Kieoya was standing there rereading the message over her shoulder.

"Kieoya, don't startle me like that!"

"Oh. Sorry, Midori."

"It's ok. Let's go eat those omelets."

It turned out that Kieoya really liked bacon in his omelet; her mother had thought he liked meat a lot and put plenty in his. He was finished with his before she was even halfway though. She noticed that his eyes had the beginning of a red tint to them. "Kieoya, your eyes are—."

"I know. They're the first thing that changes back." Kieoya looked kind of pale.

"Kieoya do you feel ok? You look a bit ill."

"I'm just not used to being inside a house for this long. In fact, if it wasn't raining last night I probably would have slept on your roof."

"Kieoya that's dangerous!" Midori only received a shrug. She sighed in exasperation. "Alright. You can go onto the porch, but not onto the roof." She pointed towards the hallway that led to the porch door. He practically sprinted to the door, opened it, and noticeably relaxed his muscles when the fresh, moist air hit his lungs. He wasn't wearing a shirt again and his forest of green hair was a complete mess, but since nobody was up this early(usually), that probably wouldn't be an issue. Cassy had left for a trip today; she would tell him that later. She was thinking they could go to the forest today and get the parsley, then maybe go swimming. She reminded herself that they had to be out of the village before his eyes went back to the burning red dragon's eyes they resembled. He flexed his shoulders in the sunlight, trying to get used to not having his wings. When he wasn't around anybody, even before the demon traits were permanent, he usually kept his wings out. It felt natural to him, even more so than his fangs.

"Midori, what do you think of me?" Kieoya blurted out suddenly. Midori looked at him like he had just asked her to marry him.

"What's that supposed to mean, Kieoya?"

He shrugged. "I just want to know what you think of me. Usually people judge me as soon as they see my claws and fangs and wings, but you didn't. So I want to know what you think of me."

_That's the most I've ever heard him speak. He must trust me, then. That's good. He needs to know he can trust me; I think I'm the only person that can help him. _Midori thought with a twinge of pity. "I think you're a wonderful person, Kieoya. You're brave, strong, and a bit stubborn. You remind me of my Father in a way." Midori blushed a bit, because Kieoya blushed a lot.

"You're a wonderful person too, Midori. Thanks." Kieoya felt that warm, remarkable feeling again. He liked it a lot, and was getting used to it. He couldn't put a name to it yet, but he felt it a long time ago when his mother was still alive. Even so, this feeling was slightly different; he blushed whenever he felt it.


	4. Chapter 4

**In The Eastern Forest**

Back at the discarded house once again, Midori was sitting near the stream separating good and bad herbs and washing them. She said this would take a while, and for him not to wander far because the gash might open again. She also said to stay away from the village; his eyes were almost completely back to their smoldering liquid form and a few scales had appeared over his wound to protect and repair it. He decided that he needed to stay in shape—he hadn't done anything to keep his physique conditioned. He couldn't find anything to make a pull-up bar, so he settled for a tree branch that was low to the ground near the spot where he could keep an eye on Midori; those wolves hadn't left the area. He didn't have his demon strength, but even so, he had to do something. He jumped and grabbed the tree branch and began lifting his weight up and down effortlessly. He knew it would take a while before he could even begin to feel any burn in his shoulders. He began working on jumping from tree branch to tree branch without using his feet.

Midori looked up, hearing something flying around through the trees. She looked up just in time to see Kieoya miss the branch he was trying to grab and splash down into the stream. "Kieoya! You ok?" She stood up, soaking wet, and looked down into the water. Suddenly a blast of icy water sprayed right onto her face. Kieoya's wings stretched from the water, and splashed her again. She laughed. "Stop splashing me Kieoya! It's cold!" She threw a handful of herbs on his head. She noticed he was laughing to.

"Sorry. I couldn't help myself. It was such a good opportunity." He stood and smacked the water with his wings, taking off and allowing the air to dry himself on the way down. His dark jade locks seemed to sparkle in the sun. "Midori? Something wrong?"

"So that's how you got so strong? Leaping around in the trees?" Midori said, thoughtfully. Kieoya didn't blush this time, but he was on the verge of it. _She thinks I'm strong? Well that's good, I guess. I need to be strong to protect you, my little flower._ Kieoya ruffled his hair and shook it out.

"Yea, I guess. That, and everyday survival. Hunting was something that required strong muscles. I had to be strong to survive."

"Oh, Kieoya…" she looked at him with sympathy. He shifted awkwardly and his eyes became dark, then lightened again.

"Midori? Have you ever seen the mountains East of here?"

"No. Father says it's too far a walk just to see some large rocks."

"I love those mountains. It's my homeland, basically. It's where my father was born, and I was born there too."

"You were born in the mountains?" Midori said in confusion. Kieoya cocked his head slightly in thought.

" I guess it was the only safe place for me. I am a demon after all." Kieoya mumbled softly. he flexed his wings, and folded them slightly, so they didn't take up so much space in the clearing. "I don't really remember my parents well. I grew up on my own since I was five years old." Kieoya shook his head and showed her a smile that let her see his fangs for once. They were striking, but not totally obvious like his claws and wings. "I really am glad though. Now I know values that most don't know until there older."

"Oh? Like what values?" Midori questioned.

"I learned to protect things that I consider mine. At any cost." Kieoya said the last bit seriously. Midori understood what he meant, but she was thinking, _He said he would protect me, so does that mean he considered me "his"? _Midori didn't totally understand this value of protection yet. She supposed she would learn. Kieoya looked at the stream, which was filling up the hole his impact left in the bottom of it.

He scratched his back with his claws. "I had to back flop didn't I…" He began scratching off a few damaged scales.

"Kieoya, you lost some scales." Midori's voice rang with concern.

"It happens. Scales replace faster than skin, so I'll be fine. You don't have to worry about me so much, you know."

"Well, I don't want you nearly dying in an alleyway again. Some of the things you do scare me."

"Don't worry about me. I'll be—!" Kieoya stopped as a large wolf leapt out into the clearing, snarling aggressively. "Midori, stay behind me." Midori got closer to Kieoya; she felt safer there. He folded his wings down protectively around her. "I'll protect you, my little flower…" The words were barely a whisper, but they meant so much. Kieoya suddenly leapt back behind her and picked her up. They were in the trees before she could realize how they got there. The tree was only ten feet tall, and could barely support their weight. Kieoya placed a clawed hand on Midori's shoulder. "Stay up here, don't come down, and hang on to the tree."

"Be careful, Dragon-boy."

He nodded. He turned around and narrowed his eyes. _One, two. Three, four five, six. And then the lead wolf, who is twice as strong. This could get bloody._ He gritted his fangs together, and bristled his scales. Anything that touched the scales would be cut by the razor sharp edge. He took a deep breath and dove right out of the tree, slamming his claws right into the back of the first wolf. A sickening crack assured him that its spine was broken. He pulled his bloody claws out of its bones, and turned to the snarling wolf behind him. He showed his fangs and growled.

Midori heard Kieoya growling; a low, deep sound that came from the back of his throat. She also heard scales clap down to his skin. The wolf jumped first, a huge wolf that would be larger than Kieoya if he didn't have wings. Kieoya braced himself and took the tackle, and then threw the wolf into the air. He jumped slightly above it and slammed the sharp edge of his wing into the wolf's hide leg. A sharp, painful whine followed the sickening snap the bone made. Kieoya landed on his knees, panting. Apparently, he had used a lot of power in that single blow. Midori tried to see Kieoya's face, to see if his eyes still were ablaze like they always appeared to be. He finally looked up, smiling. _Why is he smiling? Does he enjoy this?_ Midori thought, confused and worried. One that possessed so much power, and enjoyed a fight. Could the people in the town actually be right? "No, they're not!" she whispered to herself. He turned and looked up at her, and she saw him look slightly relieved. _He's smiling because he's happy he's fighting to defend me, and not just fighting because he needs to survive… _How she saw all of that in his eyes, she would never know. He turned, smile replaced by a determined scowl. The wolves began surrounding him; he needed to wrap this up with a final blow. He jumped just as the wolves' leapt. They landed in a tangled heap. _Perfect. It's now or never! _His next thought was, _Are you watching me, my little flower? This is for you._

He was floating in the air, or so it seemed. He focused, closing his eyes: he heard the struggling of the wolves, the howling, snarling of their leader. He felt the heat from the sun. He felt his own energy, which he would later know was chakra. _The heat from the sun. I need to borrow the fire from that star, and make it something beautiful. How can I do that? _Kieoya fell into a trance that made that instant in time seemed to halt. He focused on the heat of the blistering star, and the person he needed to protect. He sucked in as much air as his lungs would allow, and thought of a name for this talent:_ Phoenix Flower! _(little did he know, this was an actual Jutsu.) A large burst of flames surrounded by petals made up of little fireballs viciously ravaged the ground and wolves. Howls of pain echoed throughout the forest as the fire ate at the wolves' flesh. The fire ended abruptly, along with the whining howls. In the midst of the burning foliage, dead smoldering flesh, and partly burn scales, there lay Kieoya.

Midori slid down the smooth bark of the young tree, and rushed over to the fallen boy. She looked around and saw death and destruction everywhere, but didn't care. She heard a whisper of wind, which whipped away some of the ashes of dead things into the skies, revealing a young flower on the forest floor. It probably had been choked by those bushes, but now it could grow and blossom. "Were you watching me, my little flower?" She turned sharply to see who had spoken, only to see Kieoya beginning to sit up. He was covered in claw marks, and several scales were littered all over the forest floor. He was bleeding heavily where the bandages for his wound should be. _Oh, Kieoya… why did you do this for me? Wait, did he just call me his "little flower"? _"Are you ok, Midori?" He would never know, although he thought she was, because the next thing he knew, she tackled him to the floor in a hug, tears in her eyes.

"Kieoya, I'm so glad you're alive! I thought you died in the fiery blast…" she whispered the last bit. Kieoya sat up, with the crying girl in his lap, snuggled against his chest. He was blushing slightly. _She's crying… for me? _

"Why are you crying, Midori? I am alive." Kieoya said softly, with a gentleness he hadn't shown anybody else before. She sniffed and snuggled closer into him. He could barely make out her words.

"Because I thought I was going to lose you, Dragon-boy. I don't want to lose you!"

Kieoya hesitated, but eventually hugged her back protectively. If anybody had wandered upon them sitting in the woods that day, it would have been a peculiar, yet touching sight. A half-demon, broken and bleeding, comforting a young human girl, murmuring soft words into her hair. "I promise I'll always protect you, my little flower."

Midori sniffed and replied softly "I promise I'll never abandon you, Dragon-boy."

They sat there for a long time, a while past after Kieoya's wounds had stopped bleeding. Midori stopped crying and finally pulled away hesitantly, as if he would be dust to the wind if she let go. She helped him up, and they both walked to the slightly charred, old house. Kieoya didn't mind the silence; it suited him just fine. She wrapped his injuries, new and old, and turned to gather her things to leave. Kieoya didn't want her to go, so he walked to the door. He sat against the doorjamb and watched her prepare to leave: stacked up some firewood, set out some herbs incase he got ill or felt pain, left some more strips of clean cloth, picked up the herbs she needed to bring home. She walked to the door and looked down at him. He felt upset that she was leaving, so he was hiding under his long bangs again, eyes closed to hide his emotion. She kneeled on the floor and flipped up his long green hair. She leaned forward and placed a light kiss on his forehead. His eyes flew open, catching the last rays of light once again, making them look like flames. They seemed to ask her: _Do you really like me that much, my little flower?_

_Yes, Kieoya. _


	5. Chapter 5

She leaned forward and placed a light kiss on his forehead. His eyes flew open, catching the last rays of light once again, making them look like flames. They seemed to ask her: _Do you really like me that much, my little flower?_

_Yes, Kieoya. _

TIMESKIP

The next week passed quickly and rhythmically. She would wake up, come to Kieoya's "house", as she had come to think of it, and talk with him. While talking, she would re-bandage and apply a healing salve to his many wounds and minor burns. She had learned much about his said history of running and hiding from humans and demons alike, what his mother looked like, and how he inherited his burning eyes from his demon father. As the week came to a close, Midori had to tell Kieoya about school. She had to go to school four days every week, and it was from late morning to early evening. He would not be pleased that she would be gone for that long. She thought of ways to tell him while walking to his "house". The birds were chirping, and the air was crisp from the rain yesterday. She neared the house to hear something that sounded like somebody splitting wood. She quickened her pace.

"Morning, Midori! How are you?" Kieoya paused from splitting wood with the edge of his scaly hand.

"I'm good, thanks for asking. How do you slice the wood like that without hurting your hand?"

"Oh. Well, I can slightly move all of my scales, so I form a hard, sort of sharp edge on the side of my hand. Watch." He clapped the scales down, then allowed them to lean on one another to form an arch of sharp edges. "See?"

"Yea! That's so awesome!" She and Kieoya gathered up the split wood, and piled it just inside the door. She saw a noticeable pile of dragon's scales where Kieoya slept. There was a bit more scales that yesterday and the day before. "Kieoya? You've been losing a lot of scales lately. Have you been feeling ok?" She felt his forehead to see if he was above or below his normal temperature.

"It's natural for demons to shed scales at this time of year. When the leaves start changing. They grow back in quickly, but in a thicker layer because of winter."

"Well you could have told me that before now! I've been worried sick." Midori exclaimed. She realized how little she really knew about demons. _If he gets some demonic sickness, how will I be able to cure it? How can I help a demon when I scarcely know anything about humans? Oh well. I guess I'd better learn. I'm the only person he's got to help him._ "By the way, Kieoya. I'm starting school soon."

"And school is?" Kieoya was a bit worried of the answer.

"It's a place where a lot of kids go to learn things. You learn math, and science, mainly. Then you have two other classes you can choose from a list. I was thinking about taking a healing class. And maybe a class on human anatomy."

"Ok. And you're telling me this because..?"

"It is during the day, so I won't be here four days out of the week."

Kieoya visibly flinched. _She won't be here where I can protect her. She'll be in territory where I can't reach her without getting both of us in deep trouble. And possibly killed._ "But what if you get in a fight? Or something attacks you? What if you get lost? Cassy moved to another village so she can't be there for you! I don't approve of this at all." Kieoya looked as if he wanted to kill school, which wasn't possible.

"And since where were you my father? I have to go to school. It's only a few hours every day; it's not like I can't come right here afterwards. It'll be fine, Kieoya." Midori assured him. He didn't look convinced, but she went back to the topic of the approaching autumn. "I think we're going to have to winter-proof the house, Kieoya. It's already drafty and it's not even true fall yet!"

"Yea. I don't want to get stuck in a house that's below fifty degrees."

"What happens if the house is less than fifty degrees?" She asked cautiously, afraid of the answer.

"Well, my body temperature falls and I become extremely ill. Probably past any help that your herbs can give." He shivered as if recalling a past experience.

"Well, you're going to have to help me cut down some trees."

"Trees are easy to make into wood. It won't be a problem." He flexed his wings.

"You do realize you're going to have to wear a shirt or a cloak or something this winter, right?" Kieoya sulked and crossed his arms, hiding under his forest of hair again. He liked to go shirtless so he could use his wings easily. "Kieoya, you're not going to get out of this one by hiding under your hair. I'm going to buy you a nice winter cloak or something. I can cut holes for your wings, Dragon-boy. Don't worry about it." He still didn't like the whole "you have to wear a shirt" deal, but he didn't pursue it any further.

"I actually have some wood cut for paneling the back; that's where it's the worst. I just need some iron to make nails."

"I don't think I can get you any iron. We're gonna have to find something else, Kieoya." She looked around the house. She didn't see anything but a few unpiled scales, and some blankets. Wait. She had an idea. "Kieoya, how hard did you say your scales are?"

"Uh, harder than chakra armor, though not totally resistant to all chakra attacks." He had learned about chakra armor from Cassy, who also taught him about chakra before she moved. "Why?"

"Maybe we could use some of your shed scales as nails. They're sharp enough, although they'll look kinda odd."

"I guess we could try. I actually have used my own scales to make knives. I'll have to handle them though, I don't want you getting hurt."

"Ok, makes sense. Let's get to work."

After several hours of splitting wood, and "nailing" the rough planks into place, the two children managed to patch up several of the larger holes in the abandoned home. "It's still feels drafty." Kieoya complained, wondering if there was something he did wrong.

"We need something sticky to patch the holes up with. Like wet clay mixed with wood chips for strength. We learned about that last year in school." Midori noticed Kieoya's frown at the mention of school. _Well, sorry Kieoya, but I have to go to school,_ she silently told him. "There's a large river on the other side of the village. Nobody really looks up, so I was thinking we could—."

"Fly? I don't think so. Remember when Cassy saw you flying? What if that had been a villager?" Kieoya didn't want any villager to see him with her; it would probably end in her being injured.

"Kieoya, if you can fly high enough and fast enough, then what's the problem?" Midori huffed in that adorable way that for some reason Kieoya couldn't help but grin at.

"Alright, little flower; I guess I can fly us there." Midori blushed when he called her "little flower"; Kieoya smiled and flexed his wings out to full length, the wind making a mess of Midori's light brown hair. "But I also want to hunt on the way back."

"Kieoya, you shouldn't carry some dead animal and several buckets of clay at the same time."

"Right… the clay Kieoya groaned. He forgot about the main reason they had to go to the river. _Dang I was hoping we could have gone swimming or something before she had to go to that "school" thing._ Kieoya sighed. "Well, if we're gonna get there before next year, we—I'D better get flying."

"Aww, you don't want me to come, Dragon-boy?" Midori fake pouted, making Kieoya blush and stutter apologies and try to make her feel better and that he was in fact taking her.

"Yea, so I… I was just… You are coming, it's just… I'M the one flying the whole way, and—!" Kieoya was cut off when Midori hugged him unexpectedly. He flushed a shade of red brighter than when he had a high fever. "Um, why did you hug me? Not that it isn't ok or anything but-."

"Because it was the only way to get you to stop speaking gibberish, Kieoya. Now let's go!" Midori said, pulling Kieoya's arm and pointing towards the direction of the river.

Up in the air, Kieoya always felt free. He was high about his normal range, but he didn't care. His thick, long hair was out of his face, and Midori's hair was blowing around wildly as well. She was snuggled into his bare chest the same way there were the first time. He was glad he wasn't like other dragon-demons; they didn't have their arms when there flew. There arms were replaced by wings when in flight. Midori enjoyed flying, but whenever she looked down, she whimpered and wrapped her arms around Kieoya's neck in a tight hug. _I guess she doesn't trust my wings to keep us in the air. _The wooded pole he had gripped in his talons (his back toes were clawed too), and the buckets tied to that, felt a bit awkward in flight, but he was getting used to that. He was also getting used to carrying the girl that was asleep in his arms. He liked the steady warmth she gave him, even though he was naturally warmer that she was. His scales soaked up sunlight like a sponge, another reason he hated wearing shirts. Kieoya kept to his thoughts, looking down at the people in the village before.

Midori looked down again, and then looked back up at Kieoya, who was also looking down. She almost gasped at what she noticed flashing in his blazing crimson eyes. _He remembers what they did to him, all these villagers that hated him for no good reason, in his mind. He feels so much fury and loathing for these people, even though some of them didn't even do anything to him._ Midori swore a tear came to her eye, because moments after these thoughts those burning ruby eyes snapped back to her emerald eyes, and softened to just smoldering as usual.

"Are you ok, Midori? Why are you crying?" Kieoya hated seeing her cry. He didn't know why but it made him uncomfortable. The only reply he got was a hushed "yea", and then she huddled into his torso again. He shifted his hold on her and hoped that she would sleep some more; a little voice told him that she was lacking sleep, only because she would nod off here and there while visiting his little house.


End file.
